TRUMP SAYS “HE’S A HERO”, BY PUTTING HIS NAME ON RELIEF CHECKS

…The 2020 Campaign-Stimulus letter from the president

We did receive the gushing letter from President Trump

Yes, we received the direct stimulus payment from the IRS.  In addition, as has never happened before, we also received Trump’s gushing letter that was printed with Donald Trump’s juvenile Sharpie signature.

President Trump also pushed for and succeeded in having his name printed on the economic stimulus payment checks the IRS is starting to send to tens of millions of Americans.  Fortunately, for those of us with direct deposit, we didn't have to wait for a check with the Sharpie signature.

The one-page letter, was required by the coronavirus economic package approved by Congress as a record of the direct deposit from the Treasury Department. The law does not say who should be mailing the letter.

If the money eventually went to the wrong person, came in the wrong amount or didn’t arrive at all.  That is an example of all of the scenarios that have hit some of the American taxpayers in recent weeks.

In classic Trump style, the letters now arriving in mailboxes across the country carry no shortage of bragging, underscoring the president’s idea for personalizing his administration’s response to the pandemic.

“My Fellow American,” begins the letter, on a copy of White House letterhead, arriving in an envelope from the Treasury Department and the IRS in Austin, Texas. “Our great country is experiencing an unprecedented public health and economic challenge as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic. Our top priority is your health and safety.”

“As we wage total war on this invisible enemy,” Trump continues, “we are also working around the clock to protect hardworking Americans like you from the consequences of the economic shutdown.”

Trump thanks the bipartisan Congress for fast-tracking $2.2 trillion in economic relief.  He then announces the amount of the check the recipient is getting and ends by bragging about America as he repeats his famous campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

Millions of Americans will start getting the stimulus relief checks this week.  But some Americans won’t receive a check.  Certain groups of people are ineligible for the government stimulus relief payments.

“Just as we have before, America will triumph yet again, and rise to new heights of greatness,” the president wrote.

This is the first time a president’s name is appearing on millions of paper stimulus checks.  The checks are going out only to those people for whom the IRS does not have direct-deposit information.

Previous presidents have sent letters like Trump’s.  President George W. Bush included his name in letters announcing economic stimulus payments in 2001, when his administration issued tax-refund checks following a tax-cut package.  Also in 2008, when it issued payments to head off the recession.

But those letters came from the IRS, addressed to: “Dear Taxpayer,” and displayed Bush’s name prominently.  The Democrats at the time cried foul that a government agency was getting into politics.

But those letters focused much more than Trump’s letter on how payments were determined. They included details and charts for taxpayers to figure out for themselves whether they were eligible to receive the money, and whether the payments were accurate.

Trump’s letter offers scant information about the stimulus payments.  The letter’s tone is rubbing some Americans the wrong way, particularly because many Americans have had problems accessing the stimulus portals online.  Many have not received those payments or they received smaller checks than they were eligible for.

Some people who contacted The Washington Post about the letter complained that it smacked of politics, with its “The White House, Washington” letterhead.

Chris Helmsworth emailed from Portland, Oregon: “I was worried that I had been selected for an audit, or some other misfortune, I quickly opened it,”. “Inside was a letter from the White House, signed with Trump’s childlike Sharpie scrawl, telling me about how he was bringing the country together! I have to wonder how much personal protective equipment could have been purchased with what it cost for Trump to send out his vanity letter.”

A Virginia reader agreed to have his comments published on the condition of anonymity.  This was because he is an out-of-work contractor and doesn’t want to risk his chances of getting work again.  He wrote in an email: “Having worked in the political direct mail field for over four years I immediately recognized it for what it was, a campaign letter,” the reader said. “As I read it I got sick to my stomach. My tax dollars paid for this sham.”

Some people lashed out at what they called Trump’s “vanity like” letter announcing the stimulus payments.

A Treasury Department spokeswoman said in an email: “The letter serves as Notice of the Payment, and as a message from the President during these unprecedented times.”

The letter includes a line under Trump’s signature with a toll-free number, 800-919-9835, to call for assistance.  But the “Economic Impact Payment” telephone line has no real person at the other end.  It’s an automated system that tells callers to go to the IRS website, irs.gov, for more information.  With a vastly reduced staff because of stay-at-home orders, the agency’s phone lines have been down for weeks.  They are totally unable to provide a real person to hear complaints or take reports of missing or incorrect stimulus payments.

The economic relief is also hindered by old, dated technology, and the poor government roll-out.

The Cares Act required the administration to mail a letter to a taxpayer’s last known address, 15 days after a stimulus payment is sent.

The letter is supposed to indicate the method by which a payment was made (direct deposit or check), the amount of the payment and a phone number for the “appropriate point of contact” at the IRS to report any issues.

The legislation was signed into law on March 27, and it provided a $1,200 refundable tax credit for individuals and $2,400 for joint taxpayers.  There is an additional payment of $500 for every dependent child under 17.

A Treasury official said Tuesday that 89.5 million payments have been delivered so far, most of them through direct deposit, with paper checks with Trump’s signature in route now at a rate of 5 million a week for those whose bank information the IRS doesn’t have.

Nuff said.

Copyright G. Ater 2020